Centenary professors host annual forum, Q & A on gender and sexuality
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College’s annual open forum on gender and sexuality, hosted by a multi-disciplinary faculty panel, will take place in a virtual format again this year. The free Zoom forum begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 10, and is open to campus and community members at centenary.edu/genderforum.
The panel includes Centenary professors Dr. Amy Hammond, Dr. Michelle Wolkomir, and Dr. Amanda Donahoe. Following brief introductions from the panelists, the forum will follow a question and answer format, allowing the members of the audience to direct the discussion topics. Audience members will be able to submit questions via chat to a moderator who will then pose the questions to the panelists. The panelists will not know the identity of the audience members submitting questions.
The forum is now in its fifth year, originally inspired by a student-organized event in which Hammond and Wolkomir were invited to participate. Although each year’s discussion is different, the topic is continually relevant to students and community members.
“Gender and sexuality are organizing structures we use to make sense of our individual lives and to interact with groups and social institutions,” said Wolkomir, professor of sociology. “These structures are so familiar that we often take them for granted and do not even notice them. However, they impact some of the most important aspects of our lives and society. Discussing the consequences of how gender and sexuality influence our lives is critical to understanding ourselves, our society, and the power dynamics embedded in this intersection.”
For more information about the forum, please contact Dr. Amy Hammond at ahammond@centenary.edu.